Children's Step-by-Step Cookbook - just right for kids grade 4 and up
Written: May 08 '02 (Updated May 08 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: An incredibly easy to understand and follow cookbook for young novices.
Cons: Being kid-friendly, most of the recipes may be quite high in fat and sugar.
The Bottom Line: A great first foray into cooking with your school-aged child. Primarily geared toward older kids, even younger children can create interesting yummies with help from mom and dad.
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| jiastar's Full Review: Angela Wilkes - The Children's Step-By-Step Cook B... |
My 7-year-old daughter brought this book home from her school library today, and I sat down to peruse it so that we could plan to make at least 1 item together during the upcoming weekend. I have to say I wasn't expecting much but I found myself delighted with this modest-sized title.
This beginners cookbook is geared towards burgeoning chefs who are in grade 4 or up. As its title implies it takes them "step-by-step" through the cooking process.
First and foremost it starts off with a list of kitchen rules which range from safety to paying attention to detail. It also marks steps which require adult assistance in each recipe with an easy-to-spot red & white oven mitt symbol. The lovely part of this is that it is simple to find a recipe that a child can, more or less, "cook" completely on their own.
The book contains a 5 page photographic "picture glossary" which shows various cooking techniques which range from chopping an onion to making an icing bag.
There is a brief, dare I say much too brief, menu planner which gives ideas on creating an entire meal based on these recipes .... from the vegetarian meal(vegetables and rice with fruit tarts for dessert) to picnic time (filled rolls, greek salad, and no-bake fruitcake).
There is even a photographic overview of a variety of cooks tools, showing not only a colander and rolling pin, but a garlic press and potato masher.
And then there are the recipes ........
The book is broken down into Sections:
Snacks
Eggs and Cheese
Pasta Rice and Pizza
Vegetables
Meat and Fish
Cookies, Breads, and Cakes
and
Desserts and Treats
Each of these sections opens with a pictoral overiew. This 2 pages spread, in words and photos, gives information about the ingredients that the section will be focusing on.
Each chapter opens with the more simple recipes and they gradually increase in complexity. For example ... the chapter on snacks opens with the simple act of placing bits of fruit, meat, cheese, and so forth onto wooden skewers and ends with milkshakes. The chapter on meat starts off with hamburgers and ends with fisherman's pie(a take on sheperds' pie).
As for the recipes themselves they are presented beautifully:
a full list of all needed ingredients with clear photographs
detailed instructions with photos showing each step
photographs of finished product including variations
However, I do have one main concern
Fat fat and, oh yeah fat
Since this is a kids book I expected to find a lot of high-calorie fluff foods, but my hope was that the entrees themselves would put more focus onto eating right. Unfortunately the recipes all seemed to have a common theme in high fat content creating high-flavor.
One example would be
a recipe for tomato sauce -- which is enough to barely cover 3/4 lb pasta which uses not only 3/4 lb beef but 2 TBSP of olive oil AND 3 slices bacon. Call be crazy but this is a bit of overkill. I would have been happier if at least they included a vegetable variation.
But that is my only complaint.
The book is clear and concise without being condescending. It presents a wide range of foods from goodies to great meals in a simple and easy-to-follow format which makes me want to let my daughter begin her foray into food preparation.
It spells out every aspect of the recipe. Not only the preparation itself, but variations, garnishes, and presentation. There is a lovely idea which takes full sized and mini cupcakes and shows how you can lay them out on a table with merely some ribbons tucked beneath. The effect is that of a bunch of balloons. Its something that I would never have thought of, its simple, and its makes any child feel like a REAL cook.
All in all this is a lovely book for any aspiring cook. If your child is expressing an interest in what you are doing as you prepare the family meal this book will help them learn to pitch in. And you never know ... you could create your very own Martha (or Martin) Stewart.
Recommended:
Yes
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jiastar
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Location: Monmouth County, NJ
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